Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander (Image: Getty)
A fraud inquiry has been launched into the HS2 high-speed rail line after costs soared by ￡37billion. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander described the troubled rail line linking London and Birmingham as “a litany of failure” and admitted it will be delayed beyond the current planned opening date of 2033.
She told MPs: “There are also allegations that parts of the supply chain have been defrauding taxpayers, and I have been clear these need to be investigated rapidly and vigorously. If fraud is proven, the consequences will be felt by all involved.”
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Meanwhile the Prime Minister has asked the Cabinet Secretary to examine whether the long-running failure to control the cost of HS2 raises wider questions about the Civil Service as a whole.
A government-commissioned review uncovered “an appalling mess”, Ms Alexander revealed. She said: “Billions of pounds of taxpayers’ money has been wasted by constant scope changes, ineffective contracts and bad management.”
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HS2 trains were initially due to begin operating in 2026, but the date has been repeatedly pushed back until services were expected to run from 2033. However, Ms Alexander confirmed that this target would also now be missed but did not give a new date.
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She quashed hopes that the Government could revive the northern leg of the rail line, due to link Birmingham with Crewe and Manchester, which was cancelled by the previous Conservative government. She admitted the final network would be a shadow of the plans originally drawn up in 2010 but insisted: “We won’t reinstate cancelled sections we can’t afford.”
HS2 trains were originally due to run in addition to services on the existing West Coast Main Line (WCML) but high-speed services from London will now switch to existing track north of Birmingham. They have fewer seats than the current WCML trains, meaning there will actually be less passenger capacity on the northern section than now.
The Transport Secretary said: “The report highlights HS2 could cost the taxpayer millions more than planned. We’ll stop this spiralling any further by delivering all the recommendations on cost control.
“That starts with HS2 fundamentally changing their approach to estimating costs.”
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Turning to plans for HS2’s London terminus at Euston, Ms Alexander said: “Between 2019 and 2023, HS2 Ltd provided initial designs for Euston station coming in almost ￡2billion over budget. When asked for a more affordable option, they offered one costing ￡400million more than the first attempt. The word ‘affordable’ was clearly not part of the HS2 lexicon.”
She announced that former Transport for London commissioner Mike Brown has been appointed as the new HS2 chairman. He worked closely with Ms Alexander on London’s Elizabeth Line project when she was deputy mayor for London. Government ministers and officials will also attend a HS2 Task Force.
Shadow Transport Secretary Gareth Bacon admitted the Conservative Party had made mistakes with the management of HS2, leading to the decision in 2023 to replace the northern leg with a scheme known as Network North.
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He said: “I will not today pretend that the Network North was not a product of mistakes we made in the handling of HS2, because it clearly was. As a country, we must learn from those mistakes and we must not repeat them.”
Business leaders expressed frustration at yet another delay but said the decision was inevitable. Raj Kandola, of Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, said: “This latest setback is hugely frustrating but not surprising given the ongoing reports about the overall cost of delivering HS2.”
The rail industry welcomed Ms Alexander’s announcement. Railway Industry Association chief executive Darren Caplan said: “It is important, following the announcement, that the lessons of the past are learnt, when it comes to avoiding the temptation to specify dates and costs prematurely on major infrastructure projects.”
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